Sometimes I Think Vets are Brainless Walking Egos

ESPN.com - HORSE - Barbaro may have cast removed

Barbaro shattered his right hind leg in the May 20 Preakness and has been in intensive care at the New Bolton Center ever since. He underwent surgery to stabilize the right leg on May 21, then developed laminitis in his left hind leg in July, prompting Richardson to remove an estimated 80 percent of his left hoof

Now that's good thinkin' right there. He can't stand on this one so we'll just cut the other one off.

I have to say here that I'm not "in" on the details of Barbaro's case and that there may be some things about it that would make this acceptable procedure. I wonder though.

I saw a case yesterday where a mare had become laminitic (foundered) in her right front hoof. This is a very painful, life threatening condition where P3 (the bone inside the hoof) becomes detached from the front (mostly) inside surface of the hoof and begins to sink down through the bottom of the hoof. If you walked on your toenails (like horses do) it would be  like having a toenail peeled off until the bone poked through the skin and that was what you had to walk on. Sound painful? It is. Remember horses can't sit or lie down for any extended period of time. There is no relief for them. A veterinary clinic had treated the right front surgically (properly), all the while refusing to make an intervention on the unacceptable load the left hoof was having to bear while the right was useless. Can you guess what happened? Correct. The left went to shit, too. It damned near always happens if you don't act properly to prevent it, and sometimes even when you do. This poor girl was tossing her head upward, using its decelerating mass to fleetingly take weight off her front hooves for even an instant of relief. Its been eatin' at me ever since I saw it. Somebody needs a beatin'.

There is a proven procedure for dealing with laminitic horses. It was developed by a farrier turned veterinarian and is so successful it is mind boggling. I haven't seen it fail, yet. Some horses are beyond help and nothing will save them, but this is a small percentage. It requires the skills of a highly skilled and  specialized farrier (usually trained by the above mentioned vet), several sets of x-rays, highly technical  machined shoes, timely intervention, and some not unreasonable horsecare by the owner. Some more severe cases require a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed by a vet to allow the procedure to work. It's a step by step damned near guarenteed to work thing. Some of the same things apply to preventing laminitis in a noninujured opposite foot. Connect the dots! Do the math! I don't understand folks sometimes.

Some educated idiots won't take advice from folks with enough experience to know what they are doing. Ego over horsecare.